Crescent Moon
by TemariFire
Summary: How far would Sesshoumaru go to keep Rin with him forever? In a tale of love, blood, and death journey with Sesshoumaru and Rin, as they make the ultimate sacrifice.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: I made some minor edits to this chapter because I felt that some of the wording was kind of off. Thanks for reading my story and please leave a review :)  
_

* * *

Splashing through the rain soaked mud, she ran under a small tree to take cover from the pouring rain. Holding tightly unto the paper package filled with medicinal herbs, she prayed it would be spared from the water already soaking through it. If all the herbs got wet, Kaede would surely be crossed. Rin looked disappointingly at her new silk kimono Sesshoumaru had brought her. The bottom portion of her kimono had splashes of ugly brown dirt ruining the finely crafted cherry blooms.

_Great_, Rin thought. With a deep sigh, she leaned against the tree and hoped the rain would soon stop. With each passing second her optimism diminished as the rain began to pour harder. Large water droplets were spilling through the leaves, landing heavily upon her frail form. The paper package began to tear in her arms and small crumbled leaves escaped onto the ground. The rain continued at this pace for at least an hour, until she was fully drenched to her core. The package fell out of her arms and its contents scattered onto the ground. Shaking uncontrollably, Rin knelt down and pulled her knees close against her chest. Light was quickly fading from the gloomy sky and some how her vision was becoming blurry. Unknowingly, her body collapsed onto the ground and was losing consciousness. Managing to pyre open one eye, she saw in the distance, a ghostly white figure, emerge through the curtain of rain before letting the darkness consume her.

The pouring rain caused his long white bangs to slightly cover the crescent moon, while the rest of his hair draped heavily along his back. Streams of water slid down his perfectly formed face and his magenta stripes stood out proud and strong. His gold eyes fixated on her. In purposeful strides he approached Rin and lifted her into his arms. She was cold and rigid against his body but felt her steadily relax under the warmth of his arms. Rin opened her eyes to a small degree and managed a weak smile from her blue lips.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin whispered before falling unconscious again.

In a ball of light, he flew Rin to her miko home. Wood paneling covered the exterior walls and a paper screen door was made for its entrance. Silently landing down on the wooden deck, he slid open the front door and walked past the old miko. Ignoring the surprised look of the woman, he carefully placed Rin down on the futon. He stood for a moment looking over her lithe form. Attentively studying her elegant visage, he watched as her long raven lashes fluttered, touching the fair skin. Rin's delicate lips parted with an soft exhale. He wanted to reach out and ever so slightly touch the side of her cheek. In the moment, he hesitated, now was not the time to tell her. Turning around he walked back into the pouring rain.

All the while, the old miko watched the daiyokai's intense gaze at Rin. When he disappeared from view, concern filled her face. For she knew the daiyokai's love for Rin was far more than what he dared to reveal.

Later in the evening, Rin found herself in clean clothing and covered by a warm blanket. Scanning the room for Sesshoumaru, she realized he had already left. Feeling the sting of disappointment, she quickly dismissed it and determined to rise up.

"Ye need to rest child," said Kaede.

"I'm feeling better now." Rin replied.

Trying to get up, the room began to spin and realizing the error of her mistake, she lay her head back down. Closing her eyes, she thought of him. She hated it when he left without at least letting her see him go. At times, she wished she was still the little girl who traveled so freely with him. But that was nine years ago and she had become a woman. He had left her in the village, so she could decide the fate of whether to live with humans or yokai. When she was young and naïve, she had promised follow him forever but now she felt unsure. But despite it all she greatly missed him. Deciding not to dwell on it any further and she forced herself to sleep.

* * *

The next day Rin went to the stream to wash off the dirt on her kimono. Visibly upset by the fact that she had ruined such a fine gift from Sesshoumaru, she immersed the fabric into the cool stream. Gently scrubbing out the dirt with the soap Kaede gave her, the stains began to disappear. Satisfied, Rin wrung the fabric of excess water and laid it flat on a clean rock. The sun was high in the sky and feelings its warmth on her flesh, she closed her eyes and laid down on the soft grass. In a moment of nostalgia, she began singing a song from childhood memories of wandering with Sesshoumaru.

"In the mountains, In the breeze,  
In the forest, In my dreams,  
Lord Sesshomaru where are you, Jaken is serving under you too,  
I will wait for you on my own, Please return to me,  
Waiting all alone"

With a deep sigh, she rose up and sat on the edge of the stream starring at the reflection of the young woman in the water. Why did time have to pass by so fast? A shadow covered her face and she thought once again of the monk's words,

_"Humans and demons live in different worlds."_

No matter how much she wanted to be by her Lord's side, she was inevitability going to die. Why did her fate have to be so cruel? She had lost her family and now she was going to lose Sesshoumaru-sama. She knew why he stayed away. It was because she was human and he was a daiyokai. There would be no forever for anything. Fantasies created by a silly orphan girl who had no one until he came. Hitting the water, she rose up to see Sesshoumaru standing across the stream. He stood there observing her curiously, feeling embarrassed for the self-pity she was fussing over, she tried to disguise it with a fake smile.

"Sesshoumaru-sama. I'm so h…"

Rin stopped when she saw her Lord's displeasure at her deception. Casting her eyes downwards, Rin decided it was time to stop her wishful thinking and face the truth of the matter. She was going to tell Sesshoumaru that she would never return to him and would live out the rest her life with humans. The mere thought it made her heart ache in pain, as if a knife literally pierced the flesh of her heart.

_I have to do this_, Rin told herself. She could not bear the thought of allowing Sesshoumaru watch her slowly wither away into an old disgusting woman. But mostly, she could never forgive herself for allowing Sesshoumaru to suffer watching her pass into the next world, she loved him too much to hurt him. She concluded the most she could hope for was to be a small distance memory in his vast expanse of life. She wanted to be a pleasant memory of youth and innocence.

Before she could utter a word, she felt a clawed finger lifting up her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. Instantly melting at his touch, her walls fell crashing down as she looked into his golden eyes dancing with a softness she had never seen before. She could only wonder at the mysterious secrets kept behind his stoic mask.

"Rin, come with me. There is something you must know."

He turned around and walked away. She stood there watching him almost disappear on the horizon before deciding that this was the last time she would follow him. With all her love she ran after him.

It was nightfall and the old miko came outside to see why Rin had not yet returned. She looked into the starless sky and saw the crescent moon. _This is a bad omen_, thought the old miko. The crescent moon and starless sky only meant one thing, a life sacrifice would be made tonight. The old miko grabbed her cane and quickly called out for Inuyasha. She had to stop Sesshoumaru from completing the ritual.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Thank you Distant Storm, Taraah36, Lp, smpt, SessRinz, icegirljenni, RinSess13, ayamechin,and 00Zero for your reviews. Reading your reviews is a great encouragement to a new author like me. My biggest thanks goes to 00Zero, for his/she's honesty and feedback on my rough drafts. I had a blast braining storming with you on possible story ideas. I hope everyone enjoys reading this new chapter. And please leave me reviews because it makes me super happy to know your thoughts on my story!_

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An eerie silence filled the night. There was no whisper of wind or chatter of nocturnal creatures. The only sound Kaede heard was the creaking of wood underneath her feet as she walked across the deck. _What is taking Inuyasha so long_, Kaede thought. Inuyasha could hear every sound from a mile away, unless he purposefully ignored her call. Eventually, she heard the shifting of fabric and the tussle of dirt on the main road. Inuyasha leaped over the thatched fence and ran through the overgrown grass. Her eyes filled with relief at sight of the white haired hanyo coming to a halt before her.

"What is it Kaede?"

The hint of annoyance in his voice did not go unnoticed as Kaede stopped walking and tightened her grasp on the cane.

"Rin's life is in danger. That Daiyokai brother of your's intends to kill her," said Kaede, recognizing the same gold hue of his brother's eyes.

"What that's ridiculous! Sesshoumaru would never hurt Rin, much less kill her," said Inuyasha, scoffing at her.

"Hurry up and put me on your back. We have no time to waste. I will tell you what is happening on the way there."

"Have you lost your marbles, Kaede?"

Inuyasha doubting the sanity of the old woman, paused as he noticed the seriousness of Kaede's face. No way Sesshoumaru would kill Rin. She was the only person his brother had shown compassion towards. He was even surprised when he saw Jaken hand Rin a gift, obviously from his brother. But it's not like he cared what Sesshoumaru did. Just as long as Sesshoumaru stayed out of his way was all that mattered.

"Trust me when I say this but Sesshoumaru will kill Rin out of love for her. Look at the sky Inuyasha, I know you can feel it too, an impending doom is coming. And that is why you came tonight because you were concerned," said Kaede, narrowing her eyes on him.

Whether he would admit it or not, he could not deny that tonight felt terribly wrong. The air was static and humid on his skin. His body tense and his nose irritated by the stagnant scents no longer drifting away in the wind. Looking down at the old miko, he knew she was right.

"Fine, I'll take you to Rin but that's all I'm doing. You got it," said Inuyasha, as he lifted his chin up into the air.

Grabbing Kaede, he hoisted her on this back and felt her feeble fingers grip his red fire robes. He was shocked by how much Kaede had aged over the nine years after Naraku was destroyed. _Kaede didn't have much time left in this world herself_, thought Inuyasha. Sniffing the air for Rin's scent, he caught it, and ran towards the forest stream.

"Okay Kaede, tell me what the hell's going on here," said Inuyasha as he ran forward and jumped over the fence.

"This story is shared only by those who are a priestesses but tonight will be an exception because Inuyasha, you will help me whether you want to or not," said Kaede.

"It's not like you gave me much of a choice."

" Quiet now Inuyasha! The story begins long ago when the world was young and the moon was full, a great yokai warlord and human woman fell in love. When she died he threw her body up in the night sky and stole a portion of the moon's immortality, allowing the woman to be reborn as a yokai. Thus resulting in the moon going through a cycle of life. The moon in rage of its lost immortality cried out to the gods for a guardian to protect the last of its life. The gods granted the moon's wish and put in place a guardian to protect the moon."

"Well I still don't understand what that has to do with Sesshoumaru and Rin?"

"Inuyasha I am not done with my story yet."

"Oh sorry."

"Aside from the mythical story, there is truth to the fact that there is an ancient ritual. The ritual for the human to yokai transformation, requires a life sacrifice. The yokai must use its own fang to stab the heart of the human they love and place the deceased lover in the moon light. Sesshoumaru must fight the guardian and defeat it. The trick to this ritual, which I don't know if Sesshoumaru is aware of, that the ritual only works if their love for one another is in fact true. The guardian is merely a distraction for the real part of the ritual."

"Talk about a simple ritual. Sesshoumaru has to be mad to go along with this plan. Why can't he just accept life the way it is?"

"I too questioned that myself but the day after Naraku was destroyed, I saw the way he looked at Rin and knew he would destroy heaven and hell to save the only thing he's ever loved."

"That figures, the great and mighty Sesshoumaru-sama fell in love with a human girl."

"Yes he fell in love with a human girl and is going to ensure Rin will live forever with him."


End file.
